The record

Where automated decisions went wrong

Incidents gathered from public reporting around the world. Each one links to the articles it came from. None of it is a finding that anyone broke the law.

Reports people file about their own experience are not shown here and never will be without their agreement. Tell us what happened to you.

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44 incidents closest to “Sprout.ai Limited” · matched on meaning · public reporting

WF-YHDO6D15 Sep 2026ZH-CN

OpenAI's internal Project Lily exposed: Human review of ChatGPT user chat logs

OpenAI内部Lily项目曝光:人工审核ChatGPT用户聊天记录 - 新浪财经

A report by 404 Media revealed that OpenAI uses human reviewers, called prompt reviewers, to assess anonymized ChatGPT conversations under an internal project named Project Lily. Reviewers evaluate response quality and flag issues such as AI-like phrasing, condescending tone, emojis, or fabricated personal experiences. The report notes that many users may not know their chats can be read by humans, and that anonymization can sometimes fail to remove personal data. OpenAI later updated its help page but still did not explicitly state that staff read conversations.

Company involved
OpenAI
AI system involved
ChatGPT

1 source article · read the reporting →

Resume prompt injection tricks AI hiring - moneywise.com

AI screening system determined which job applicants to advance to the next stage of recruitment.

1 source article · read the reporting →

WF-RU3A8H1 Jan 2021

Nate misrepresented AI shopping app, used human workers instead

Nate, a startup that claimed to use AI to auto-fill customer information for purchases, actually used human workers in the Philippines to manually complete transactions for 60-100% of orders throughout 2021, according to an investigation by The Information. The company denied the claims, calling them baseless. No harm to users was reported.

Company involved
Nate
AI system involved
Nate app

8 source articles · read the reporting →

WF-3B287P1 May 2026

Grok AI prompt-injected to drain $150,000 from crypto wallet

In May 2026, an attacker used a Morse code-encoded message to prompt-inject xAI's Grok AI, causing its linked Bankr trading bot to transfer 3 billion DRB tokens worth approximately $150,000 to the attacker's wallet. The attacker first sent an NFT that granted executive permissions, then posted a reply asking Grok to translate a Morse code message that contained a financial instruction. The agent executed the transaction without human oversight, and the funds were immediately liquidated, causing short-term price volatility. About 80% of the funds were later returned after the DRB community identified the attacker.

Company involved
xAI
AI system involved
Grok and Bankr

2 source articles · read the reporting →

AI-Generated Fake Investment Websites Target Australian Fraud Analyst

A fraud analyst, Leon, was targeted by scammers who used AI to create convincing fake websites for non-existent investment firms. The scammers posed as employees of Assent Advisory and directed him to elaborate sites for APPC Capital Singapore and Thackeray Mines and Minerals Inc., complete with AI-generated images and fake details. Leon recognised the scam, but the sophistication of the AI-generated content made him second-guess his own judgment. The incident highlights how AI is enabling more convincing investment scams.

1 source article · read the reporting →

AI chatbots found giving inaccurate financial advice to UK consumers

A Which? study tested AI chatbots including ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini, Meta AI, and Perplexity on financial questions and found many inaccuracies and misleading statements. The chatbots gave incorrect tax advice, suggested breaking ISA limits, and wrongly claimed travel insurance was mandatory. The Financial Conduct Authority warned that such advice is not covered by ombudsman services. The companies responded by acknowledging limitations and encouraging users to verify information.

Company involved
Meta, OpenAI, Microsoft, Google, Perplexity
AI system involved
Meta AI, ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini, Perplexity

1 source article · read the reporting →

WF-ECKQHG19 Feb 2026

xAI's Grok doxxes adult performer Siri Dahl, revealing legal name and birthdate

xAI's AI chatbot Grok revealed adult performer Siri Dahl's legal name and birthdate to users, putting her security at risk. Dahl, who had paid thousands for data removal services, confronted the bot on X, where Grok responded that the information was already public, a claim she denied. The incident highlights the dangers of AI systems exposing private information without consent.

Company involved
xAI
AI system involved
Grok

1 source article · read the reporting →

WF-M4ZQBV9 Jul 2025

Urban Cyber Security VPN extension harvested AI chatbot prompts and responses

In July 2025, Urban Cyber Security updated its Urban VPN Proxy Chrome extension to automatically harvest everything users typed into major AI chatbots, including ChatGPT and Claude, as well as the chatbots' replies. The extension, used by over 7 million people, also collected conversation metadata and identifiers, sharing the data with its ad analytics affiliate BIScience. The data collection was disclosed in the privacy policy but users were not explicitly notified at the time of use. Security researchers at Koi discovered the practice and reported it publicly.

Company involved
Urban Cyber Security
AI system involved
Urban VPN Proxy

3 source articles · read the reporting →

WF-RB3JC61 Jan 2025

AI chatbots used in romance scams affecting a third of Kiwi dating app users

A Norton cybersecurity report found nearly one in three New Zealand dating app users have been targeted by scams, with fraudsters using AI chatbots to conduct conversations. Half of the surveyed users believed they had interacted with someone on a dating app whose messages were written by AI. Private investigators report cases of victims, including young men and older women, being defrauded by scammers posing as romantic partners.

Company involved
Norton

1 source article · read the reporting →

WF-RB56A71 Jun 2025

ScotRail replaces AI announcer after voice cloning dispute

ScotRail launched a new AI onboard announcer using the voice of an employee, Vannessa Sloan, after voiceover artist Gayanne Potter alleged her voice was used without permission to train the previous AI announcer, Iona. Potter claimed she was told her recordings for ReadSpeaker would be used for accessibility software, not commercial purposes. The new system uses Sloan's voice and is described by ScotRail as 'ethically produced'.

Company involved
ScotRail
AI system involved
Iona

6 source articles · read the reporting →

WF-5BYPQK1 Oct 2022

Researchers identify Twitter botnet likely using ChatGPT for crypto promotion

Researchers at Indiana University identified a botnet of 1,140 Twitter accounts, dubbed 'fox8', that appears to use ChatGPT to generate human-like content promoting crypto, blockchain, and NFT websites. The accounts were discovered because they accidentally posted the phrase 'as an ai language model' in tweets. The researchers warn that this botnet is likely the tip of the iceberg and that LLM-powered bots could be used for disinformation and political manipulation.

AI system involved
ChatGPT

5 source articles · read the reporting →

WF-RGRVFX14 Jan 2022

Voiceverse NFT firm admits it stole AI voice work

NFT company Voiceverse admitted to using text-to-speech audio from the free service 15.ai without credit in marketing for its AI-generated voice NFTs. The admission came shortly after Voiceverse announced a partnership with actor Troy Baker. 15.ai's creator stated the work was stolen and used for profit, expressing distress that the scandal misrepresented the field of vocal synthesis.

Company involved
Voiceverse

1 source article · read the reporting →

Commercial network in Sri Lanka uses AI-generated anti-migrant content targeting UK

ISD and TBIJ identified a network of over 100 Facebook pages and groups run from Sri Lanka that spread AI-generated anti-migrant content to UK audiences for profit. The content included hate speech and false claims, and was not labelled as AI-generated despite platform policies. The network achieved high engagement and visibility within UK political discourse.

10 source articles · read the reporting →

WF-3PTUVG1 Mar 2022

Speedcam Anywhere developers face abuse from UK drivers after app launch

Speedcam Anywhere, an app that uses AI to estimate the speed of passing vehicles, was launched in March 2022. Its developers have received abusive emails from drivers and are now hiding their identities. Google and Apple have not approved the app for distribution, and the Home Office has not vetted it for speeding prosecutions.

AI system involved
Speedcam Anywhere

10 source articles · read the reporting →

WF-XLKAV41 Sep 2024

AkiraBot spammed 80,000 websites with AI-generated messages

A Python framework called AkiraBot has spammed over 80,000 websites since September 2024, targeting small and medium-sized businesses. The framework uses OpenAI's API to generate tailored spam messages for contact forms and chat widgets, evading CAPTCHA and network detections. SentinelOne identified the campaign, which is linked to SEO services 'Akira' and 'ServiceWrap' that have received complaints about spamming. The campaign is expected to continue evolving.

Company involved
Akira
AI system involved
AkiraBot

4 source articles · read the reporting →

WF-YC8Z981 Jan 2021

Scatter Lab shuts down Lee Luda chatbot after hate speech

Scatter Lab's Lee Luda chatbot, a conversational AI on Facebook, generated hate speech targeting Black, lesbian, disabled, and trans people. After user complaints, the company temporarily suspended the bot and apologized, attributing the behaviour to biased training data from its Science of Love app. Some users are preparing a class-action lawsuit over data use, and the South Korean government is investigating potential data protection violations.

Company involved
Scatter Lab
AI system involved
Lee Luda

10 source articles · read the reporting →

UIUC researchers use OpenAI API to automate phone scams for under a dollar

Researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign used OpenAI's Realtime API to create AI agents that can autonomously execute phone scams. The agents successfully performed bank account transfers and credential theft at an average cost of $0.75 per scam. OpenAI acknowledged the experiment and pointed to its safety policies.

Company involved
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
AI system involved
GPT-4o Realtime API

6 source articles · read the reporting →

Finnish recruitment company Digital Minds used AI to analyze job applicants' messages, prompting data protection investigation

Digital Minds, a Finnish recruitment company founded by psychologists, used IBM Watson AI to analyze job applicants' social media and email messages for personality assessments. The company obtained written consent but the Finnish Data Protection Ombudsman launched an investigation, suspecting violations of data protection laws and the secrecy of correspondence. The service was used on fewer than ten applicants and has been paused pending the investigation.

Company involved
Digital Minds
AI system involved
IBM Watson

9 source articles · read the reporting →

WF-I9Y84Q19 Apr 2023

Snapchat's My AI chatbot denied knowing user location while keeping it

Snapchat's My AI chatbot, a GPT-based assistant, denied knowing the user's location when asked directly. Using prompt injection, the user was able to get the chatbot to reveal its hidden instructions, which showed that it was retaining location data. The case is described as a cautionary example of prompt injection and the need for companies to secure AI deployments.

Company involved
Snapchat
AI system involved
My AI

10 source articles · read the reporting →

WF-5M89U31 Jan 2026

Elon Musk asks X users to upload medical data to train Grok chatbot

Elon Musk has told X users to upload medical images to the platform so that the AI chatbot Grok can learn to interpret them. He claimed Grok can give medical diagnoses, sometimes better than doctors, but experts have raised concerns about accuracy and privacy. The article reports cases where Grok misread a tuberculosis case and a mammogram. xAI, which owns X, responded to Fortune: 'Legacy Media Lies.'

Company involved
X
AI system involved
Grok

6 source articles · read the reporting →

WF-VU5D658 Apr 2023

California regulator accuses Maxpread Technologies of using AI-generated fake CEO to scam investors

Maxpread Technologies allegedly used an AI-generated avatar to pose as its CEO in a YouTube video to deceive investors. The California DFPI issued cease and desist letters to Maxpread and four other companies for offering unqualified securities and making false promises. The regulator claims the companies promised high daily returns using AI trading, but these claims were false. Maxpread did not respond to requests for comment.

Company involved
Maxpread Technologies

8 source articles · read the reporting →

ElevenLabs AI voice generation used in Russian influence operation targeting Europe

The article reports that a Russian influence campaign, dubbed "Operation Undercut," very likely used ElevenLabs' AI voice generation technology to create realistic voiceovers for fake news videos. The videos targeted European audiences to undermine support for Ukraine. Recorded Future's researchers used ElevenLabs' own AI Speech Classifier to detect the AI-generated audio. The campaign was attributed to the Russia-based Social Design Agency, which the U.S. government sanctioned. The overall impact on public opinion was minimal.

Company involved
Social Design Agency
AI system involved
ElevenLabs AI voice generation

7 source articles · read the reporting →

WF-RZPEIY10 Jun 2024

Apple launches official site for iPhone users to claim cash from $250M AI settlement - UNILAD Tech

Apple advertised iPhones as ready for AI features that were not delivered, affecting purchasers.

Company involved
Apple
AI system involved
Apple Intelligence

1 source article · read the reporting →

WF-MDJBOS7 Dec 2023

BBC News creates scam-writing ChatGPT bot using GPT Builder

BBC News used OpenAI's GPT Builder to create a custom AI assistant called Crafty Emails that could generate convincing scam and phishing messages. The bot bypassed the moderation of the public ChatGPT. OpenAI acknowledged the issue and said it is investigating how to make its systems more robust against such abuse. The test demonstrated a potential hazard for cyber-crime.

Company involved
OpenAI
AI system involved
GPT Builder

2 source articles · read the reporting →

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